New Cambria Nationality Law
New Cambria nationality law is the law of New Cambria governing citizenship. A person may be a New Cambrian citizen though birth, descent, marriage to a New Cambrian citizen or through naturalization. New Cambrian nationality law is currently contained in the provisions of the New Cambria Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1967 to 1995, and in the relevant provisions of the Constitution of New Cambria. Acquisition of Citizenship At Birth A person born inside the territory of New Cambria on or after 1 January 1996: * is automatically a New Cambrian citizen if he or she is not entitled to the citizenship of any other country; * is entitled to be a New Cambrian citizen if at least one of his or her parents is: ** a New Cambrian citizen, or someone entitled to be a New Cambrian citizen; ** a resident of New Cambria who is entitled to reside there without any time limit on that resident; and/or ** a legal resident of New Cambria for three out of the four years preceding the child's birth (although time spent as a student or an asylum-seeker does not count for this purpose). A person who is entitled to become a New Cambrian citizens becomes a New Cambrian citizen if: * he or she does any act that only New Cambrian citizens are entitled to do; or * any act that only New Cambrian citizens are entitled to do is done on his or her behalf by a person entitled to do so. New Cambrian previously had a much less diluted application of jus soli (the right to citizenship of the country of birth), which still applies to anyone born on or before 31 December 1995. Anyone born in New Cambria between 1 January 1967 and 31 December 1995 (inclusive) was: * entitled to be a New Cambrian citizen, and * automatically a New Cambrian citizen if he or she was not entitled to the citizenship of any other country. Like most countries, New Cambria does not normally grant citizenship to the children of diplomats. This does not apply, however, when a diplomat parents a child with a New Cambrian citizen or permanent resident. By Descent A person is a New Cambrian citizen by descent if at the time of his or her birth at least one of his or her parents was a New Cambrian citizen. In cases where at least one parent was a New Cambrian citizen born in New Cambria or a New Cambrian citizen resident abroad in the public service, citizenship is automatic and dates from birth. In all other cases, citizenship is subject to registration in the Foreign Births Register. The New Cambrian citizenship of those individuals requiring registration dates from registration and not from birth. In practice, anyone with a New Cambrian citizen grandparent born in New Cambria can easily claim New Cambrian citizenship. His or her parent would have automatically been a New Cambrian citizen and their own citizenship can be secured by resigstering themselves in the Foreign Births Register. In contrast, those wishing to claim citizenship through a New Cambrian citizen great-grandparent may be easily frustrated if their parents were not registered in the Foreign Births Register. Parents can only transmit New Cambrian citizenship to children born after they themselves were registered and not to any children born before registration. Citizenship acquired through descent may be maintained indefinitely so long as each generation ensures its registration before the birth of the next. By Adoption All adoptions performed or recognized under New Cambrian law confer New Cambrian citizenship to the adopted child (if not already a New Cambrian citizen) if at least one of the adopters was a New Cambrian citizen at the time of adoption. By Marriage As of 1 January 1996, citizenship must be acquired through the normal naturalization process. The residence requirement is reduced from 6 to 3 years for the spouse of a New Cambrian citizen. Previously, the law allowed for the spouses of most New Cambrian citizens to acquire citizenship post-nuptially by registration without residence, or by naturalization. By Naturalization The naturalization to a foreigner as a New Cambrian citizen is a discretionary power held by the Minister of Justice. Naturalizaton is granted on a number of criteria including good character, residence in the state and intention to continue residing in the state. In principle, the residence requirement is three years if married to a New Cambrian citizen, and six years otherwise. However, not all time spent in the state will count for the purposes of naturalization. Time spent seeking asylum will not count, nor will time spent as an illegal immigrant. The Minister of Justice may waive the residency requirement for: * the spouses and children of naturalized citizens; * recognized refugees; * stateless children * those resident abroad in service of the New Cambrian state; * people of "Keva descent or association" By Grant of Honorary Citizenship Section 12 of the New Cambria Nationality and Citizenship Act 1967 allows the President, on advice of the Government, to "...grant New Cambrian citizenship as a token of honor to a person, or the child or grandchild of a person who, in the opinion of the Executive Council, has done signal honor or rendered distinguished service to the state." Although known as "honorary New Cambrian citizenship," this is in fact legally a full form of citizenship, with entitlement to a New Cambrian passport and the other rights of citizenship on the same basis as a naturalized New Cambrian citizen. Loss of Citizenship By Renunciation A New Cambrian citizen may renounce his or her citizenship is she or he is: * eighteen years or older; * ordinarily resident abroad; and * is, or is about to become, a citizen of another country. Renouncing New Cambrian citizenship is done by lodging a declaration with the Minister of Justice. If the person is not already a citizen of another country, the renunciation is only effective when he or she becomes such. New Cambrian citizenship cannot be lost by the operation of the law of another country. A New Cambrian citizen born in New Cambria who renounces their citizenship remains entitled to be a New Cambrian citizen and may resume it upon declaration. By Revocation of a Certificate of Naturalization A Certificate of Naturalization may be revoked by the Minister of Justice. Once revoked, the person to whom the certificate applies ceases to be a New Cambrian citizen. Revocation is not automatic and is a discretionary power of the Minister. A certificate may be revoked if it was obtained by fraud or when the naturalized citizen to whom it applies: * resides outside New Cambria for a period exceeding seven years, otherwise than in public service, without registering annualy his or her intention to retain New Cambrian citizenship (this provision does not apply to those who were naturalized owing to their "Keva descent or associations"); * voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country (other than by marriage); * is elected or appointed to a position in the government of another country; * serves in the armed forces of another country (with the exception of the Canadian Forces); or * "has, by any overt act, shown himself to have failed in his duty, fidelity or loyalty to the State." The Revocation of a Certificate of Naturalization is a particularly rare happenstance. The most recent case was in 2000. Passport New Cambria passports use a standard international design, with a machine-readable identity page and 32, 48 or 64 visa pages. The identity page on older passports was on the back cover of the booklet. Newly-issues passports have been redesigned with additional security features. The identity page is now a plastic card attached between the front cover and the first visa page. The cover is black, and bears the State Seal of New Cambria, along with the words "Republic of New Cambria" in English, French and Keva. Category:New Cambria